The Red Sox are once again on bottom early thanks to a second-inning solo shot from Mark Reynolds off of Josh Beckett.
While Beckett seems to be throwing the ball well in the first two innings, striking out two batters in the first with good velocity and a well-spotted curveball, a poor choice of pitches—a cut fastball in Reynolds’ wheelhouse—proved costly with two outs in the second. Reynolds cleaned the pitch out, turning it into a towering fly ball that stayed fair and left the park to give the Orioles the 1-0 lead.
The Sox’ offense, meanwhile, has done a good job of putting the bat on the ball, making some loud outs. But so far, outs are all they’ve gotten, with Tommy Hunter retiring the first six men to come to the plate.